The Orange Kitchen

Avocado Pesto Zoodles with Oven Roasted Tomatoes.

This week (23rd - 29th March) is Meat Free Week, which is a worldwide campaign designed to get everyday, average people just like you thinking about the consumption of meat and products from animal agriculture. Scientific evidence conclusively proves that excessive consumption of meat and animal products is not only bad for your health, but its also killing the environment. High blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, obesity - they've all been linked to human consumption of meat, dairy, eggs, etc.

In terms of the environment;

• on average it takes 11 times more fossil fuel to make one calorie of animal protein than it does to make one calorie of plant protein (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 78, No. #, Pimentel & Pimental, Sep. 2003)
• In the U.S., livestock production is responsible for 55% of all soil erosion on cropped land and pastureland, 40% of which ends up in water resources (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, "Livestock's Long Shadow", 2006, p. 73)
• It takes 5 times more water to yield 1000 kcal of meat as it does to yield 1000 kcal of fruits, vegetables or grains (Malin Falkenmark & Johan Rockstrom, "Balancing Water for Humans and Nature", 2004, p. 50)
• You could save more water by not eating one pound of beef than you would save by not showering for 12 months (based on 1, 7 minute long shower per day) (John Robbins, The Food Revolution, 2001, p. 237)

Personally I find these kinds of facts truly shocking, however none of this is to say you shouldn't eat meat at all, and MFW is not about promoting zero consumption of meat. But, as a population, humans consume too much meat that is frequently farmed in an unsustainable way, so the whole idea behind MFW is to get you thinking about that excessive consumption and to, hopefully, do something about it. I am personally a vegan, and very strongly believe in a vegan diet being the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to make a genuine beneficial impact on the planet. But, I recognise that many think veganism is a diet extreme, and that the majority of the world still consume meat, as well as other animal agriculture products. That's where Meat Free Week comes in, as it is founded on a desire to promote the realisation of that and encourage people to eat less meat, more fruits, vegetables and grains and as a result, be healthier and contribute towards helping our environment.

In honour of MFW, I thought I would share one of my favourite meat-free recipes that I love to eat for dinner. Zoodles are cool. If you've never heard of a zoodle, then you're missing out. Basically zoodle is short for zucchini noodle. You can buy a super fun kitchen contraption called a spiralizer (very fun, would recommend) or you could also use a conventional kitchen knife and slice a zucchini into thin strips. Basically no excuses. I should probably also mention pesto. And avocado. And pine nuts. And roasted tomatoes. All together. YUM.

Ingredients;
(serves 2)

2 large zucchini's
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup raw pine nuts (+ extras for garnishing)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for the tomatoes
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 avocado/1 small avocado, seed and skin removed
Half a lemon, juiced
1 cup fresh rocket (arugula) + extra for serving
Handful cherry tomatoes
Cracked black pepper
Chilli flakes (to serve)

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Use a sharp knife to slice the cherry tomatoes in halves, and then lay them out on a baking tray. Garnish them with a dash of olive oil and a generous sprinkling of black pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, using a spiralizer, turn the zucchini's into zoodles and place in a large bowl. (In the absence of a spiralizer, use a sharp knife to carefully cut the zucchini into thin strips, like fettuccine, or a julienne slicer if you've got one of those!)
2. In a blender, combine the basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, rocket, avocado and olive oil. Blend these on high speed until you have a paste like consistency - this might take a few minutes and require some scraping down of the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the pesto to the bowl of zoodles and mix through well.
4. When the tomatoes are cooked, remove them from the oven. Plate up the pesto zoodles and serve with a generous topping of roast tomatoes, some fresh rocket leaves and some pine nuts as well as some chilli flakes. An extra handful of fresh basil leaves also doesn't go astray at this point.
5. Devour and appreciate the deliciousness of your completely meat-free, vegan creation of yum!